Mike Vizena: Community progams help the mentally ill

11:00 PM,
Oct. 26, 2013

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Mike Vizena is executive director of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards.

Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the Community Mental Health Act, which provided grants to establish community mental health centers and research facilities devoted to the treatment of mental health disorders and disabilities. The purpose was to increase community-based care options as an alternative to institutionalization for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This legislation drastically altered the delivery of mental health services, which inspired a new era of optimism in mental health care and laid the foundation for ...